Drie dames in regionaal kostuum aan een gracht in Venetië 1758 - 1810

Louis Ducros etched these three ladies in regional costume by a Venetian canal at an unknown date. What strikes me most is the distinctive head covering, the 'fazzoletto', a veil worn by Venetian women. This veil, obscuring yet revealing, connects us to a long history of concealing the female form. We see echoes of it in the veils of ancient Roman priestesses, and later in the monastic habits of nuns. The fazzoletto, however, carries a different weight – a blend of piety and coquetry. Think of Salome, veiled, dancing provocatively, a dangerous allure in her concealment. This tension between hiding and revealing speaks to the subconscious anxieties surrounding female identity, fluctuating between purity and temptation. A motif, which resurfaces through history, constantly reshaped by cultural forces.